The Trap of Comparison

by Paul Fredricks // December 01, 2015 04:00 pm

Gift giving and shopping lists have been top of mind at our house since Black Friday and maybe at your house, too. In fact, I have noticed my boys wish list’s on the refrigerator have been expanding ever since. Come to find out the gifts my boys want are similar to their friends lists. I get that…when I was their age I wanted the cool stuff my buddies were getting so I could be cool too. Even today, I get caught up in comparing myself with others. Social media can encourage thoughts of comparison as well; they’re smarter, more popular, their house is nicer, they have a cooler car, etc.

We can get preoccupied with the gifts others have and how that can make us feel dissatisfied with the gifts we’ve been blessed with. My hope is, at least for my family, that rather than yearning for what others have, we find gratitude for what we have, and we remember to take the time and thank the Lord not only during the holidays, but every day all year long.

In His grip-

Paul

1 Thessalonians 5:18, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”